The hyena's symbolism stems from several facts about the animal. It is nocturnal and therefore mysterious. Most species of hyenas are carrion-eaters and so are thought to be unclean, cowardly, and greedy. It is a symbol of greed and its name comes from the Greek "hys" meaning "swine." The spotted hyena is a vicious predator which hunts larger animals in packs and may even attack people. This hyena is so terrifying to humans that it was once alleged that the sight of its shadow would strike dogs dumb with fear and the sight of its skin would cause the mighty panther's fur to fall out in fright. It is the antithesis of the panther which is paralyzed with fear when attacked by it.

Early naturalists thought hyenas were hermaphrodites or the result of the mating of a dog with a wolf. According to early writings such as Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Physiologus, the hyena continually changed its sex and nature from male to female and back again. It, therefore, became an image of sexual deformity, prostitution, and deviant sexual behavior.

The hyena was also a symbol of wisdom and cleverness, however, because of its constant laughter, its knowledge was seen to be that of the debased, profane, earthly, or initiatory kind. The wise hyena was a fool compared to the all-knowing God and symbolized the foolishness of man's wisdom as opposed to that of the Father (I Cor 1:25).

It was believed to have powers of divination and fascination and to know the secrets of magic, the dead, and various hidden or demonic forces. It was thought to imitate human voices and call its victims by name. This talent made it a symbol of the Devil who disguised his tempting voice as that of an angel. He caused confusion in his prey and hypnotized them with his shadow or the touch of his paw. It was believed that the souls of humans it had eaten remained forever visible in the eyes of the hyena who devoured them. Sorcerers hunted with hyena packs and became hyenas themselves in order to tear their enemies apart. Witches and ghosts were thought to ride upon these beasts.

In Mali there were Hyena Men similar to werewolves. These were usually wicked men or demons who occasionally changed themselves into hyenas in order to hunt both man and beast. They used magical talismans to protect themselves from hunters and could only be destroyed by using a beautiful naked woman for bait. The sight of such a treasure in their path would so captivate Hyena Men that they would stop in their tracks, allowing the hunter to shoot them.

Christian legend reports that a hyena once brought a blind boy to Macarius the Egyptian who restored his sight to him. Isaiah says of Babylon that "hyenas will howl in their citadels" adding their voices to the sounds of desolation to be heard in this once beautiful city (Isa 13:22). The site of ancient Babylon was avoided for centuries by wandering Arabs who believed that it was haunted by demons, evil spirits, satyrs, and the ghost of Nimrod, the renowned hunter and warrior believed to have built the tower of Babel (Gen 10:8-12; Mic 5:6).

All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Source of Article:  http://ww2.netnitco.net/~legend01/hyena.htm

Symbol meanings of the Horse date back to prehistory, and the first civilized, written acknowledgement of the Horse comes in the third millennium BC where historians uncovered slate tablets in Elam (present day Iraq and Iran) which reference this noble, wild beast.

A summary of prevalent symbol meanings for the horse:

• Power
• Grace
• Beauty
• Nobility
• Strength
• Freedom

The Horse symbol meanings of power are widespread through most cultures, and it is linked as an emblem of life-force. Many cultures assign the attributes of the four elements to the Horse: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water.

As a Celtic symbol, the Horse was associated with war. With war, comes attributes of victory, conquer, longevity as well as procurement of territory and other spoils that come with triumph in battle.

All of these heady aspects of valor were associated with the Horse in Celt animal symbolism. In fact, so much so, the Celts hailed the Horse as the beast belonging to the sun god, and assigned it a place with the goddess Epona.

What about a horse of a different color? The color of the Horse is also steeped with symbol meanings. Here are the most common color meanings for the Horse:

• Black Horse:
  Mystery, death, night, secret, messenger of esoteric knowledge
• White Horse:
  Light, sun, day, vitality, illumination, resurrection, messenger of birth

Source of Info:  http://www.whats-your-sign.com/horse-symbol-meanings.html

LION: An ancient symbol of the sun, dominion, power, ferocity and bravery, the "king of the beasts" was often used on heraldic shields, flags or banners by medieval European rulers. In Tarot cards, an occult system of divination based on the Kabala, it symbolized strength or power. In ancient mythology it was identified with sun worship and the imagined power of both gods and godesses. The lion head ringed by its golden mane would used in ancient mystery initiations and ritualistic sun worship.

       While pagan nations used it to represent their mythical views of reality, the lion was created by the Most High.  In the Bible, we see how He used it for His purposes.

Source of Info:  http://www.crossroad.to/Books/symbols1.html

London is getting ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the Olympic torch relay will begin on May 18th 2012. This ceremonial event, where people from all walks of life carry the Olympic torch across the host country, is particularly symbolic to those who began this Olympic traditions.

In Greek mythology, the original “torch-bearer” was Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods in order to give it to humanity. Fire was considered by ancients as being a tiny spark of the sun, which was considered to be the physical manifestation of deity (see Sun Worship). By bringing fire to mankind, Prometheus has therefore enabled humans to partake in “all things divine” and even allowed them to aspire to become gods themselves. For this reason, Prometheus is particularly revered in secret societies, as his myth is the ultimate representation of the philosophy and the goals of mystery schools: ascension towards divinity and immortality through man’s own means.

WASHINGTON -- While the killing of al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden lacks true historical precedent, polling following similar events suggests that President Barack Obama will enjoy a bounce in public approval ratings in the days and weeks ahead. However, this boost will likely yield to perceptions of Obama's handling of the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as more time passes. . . Read More